1 www.mecd.gob.es/australia/ [email protected]EMBASSY OF SPAIN 15 Arkana Street Yarralumla – ACT 2600, Canberra TEL: 61 2 62734291 FAX: 61 2 62734588 INTERNSHIPS LANGUAGE AND CULTURE ASSISTANTS PROGRAM IN SPAIN FOR AUSTRALIAN CITIZENS SCHOOL YEAR 2018-2019 The Spanish Ministry of Education offers new Language and Culture Assistants positions in Spain for Australian university students or graduates for the school year 2018-2019. Citizens interested may apply for the complete school year (October 2018 to May 2019 or June 2019 if destination is Madrid) or for the first semester of 2019 (from January to May 2019, June if the destination is Madrid). The Education Office of the Spanish Ministry of Education does not charge application fees for any service related to the application process in this program. Please contact us if you receive any petition of fees for this service. GENERAL INFORMATION Participants in the program have the opportunity to live in Spain, start or improve their knowledge of the Spanish language and culture and take advantage of an internship experience in public Spanish schools for their future, fostering and promoting intercultural understanding between citizens of Spain and Australia. Their main role is to support the teacher of English in primary or secondary education or in language schools. Regions can be requested. Some knowledge of Spanish is convenient but not compulsory. At the same time, this program allows Spanish students the opportunity to study English language in depth and get to know the Australian culture by interacting with English native speakers. In Spain, the Ministry of Education and the local education authorities in some autonomous regions organize teacher training courses for language assistants during the first days of the school year. Australians can apply for the following Spanish regions: Andalucía, Aragón, Asturias, Castilla La Mancha, Castilla y León, Comunidad Valenciana, Extremadura, Galicia, Islas Baleares, Islas Canarias, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia y País Vasco. I. REQUIREMENTS • be Australian citizens and speakers of English as their first language • be a second or third year university student of a three-year Bachelor’s Degree or a third or fourth year student of a fourth-year degree, or already in possession of a Bachelor’s degree, a postgraduate student, or having completed a Master’s degree or Doctorate • be of sound mental and physical health and must have no limitations that would impair your ability to teach • have a clear police record
LANGUAGE AND CULTURE ASSISTANTS PROGRAM IN SPAIN FOR AUSTRALIAN CITIZENS
SCHOOL YEAR 2018-2019
The Spanish Ministry of Education offers new Language and Culture Assistants positions in Spain for Australian university students or graduates for the school year 2018-2019. Citizens interested may apply for the complete school year (October 2018 to May 2019 or June 2019 if destination is Madrid) or for the first semester of 2019 (from January to May 2019, June if the destination is Madrid). The Education Office of the Spanish Ministry of Education does not charge application fees for any service related to the application process in this program. Please contact us if you receive any petition of fees for this service.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Participants in the program have the opportunity to live in Spain, start or improve their knowledge of the Spanish language and culture and take advantage of an internship experience in public Spanish schools for their future, fostering and promoting intercultural understanding between citizens of Spain and Australia. Their main role is to support the teacher of English in primary or secondary education or in language schools. Regions can be requested. Some knowledge of Spanish is convenient but not compulsory.
At the same time, this program allows Spanish students the opportunity to study English language in depth and get to know the Australian culture by interacting with English native speakers.
In Spain, the Ministry of Education and the local education authorities in some autonomous regions organize teacher training courses for language assistants during the first days of the school year.
Australians can apply for the following Spanish regions:
Andalucía, Aragón, Asturias, Castilla La Mancha, Castilla y León, Comunidad Valenciana, Extremadura, Galicia, Islas Baleares, Islas Canarias, La Rioja, Madrid, Murcia y País Vasco.
I. REQUIREMENTS
• be Australian citizens and speakers of English as their first language • be a second or third year university student of a three-year Bachelor’s Degree or a third or
fourth year student of a fourth-year degree, or already in possession of a Bachelor’s degree, a postgraduate student, or having completed a Master’s degree or Doctorate
• be of sound mental and physical health and must have no limitations that would impair your ability to teach
Candidates may include any of the following merits:
• Prior teaching experience • Experience living, working or studying overseas • Official Spanish Diplomas (DELE or others) • Knowledge of other languages in addition to English and Spanish • Additional degrees other than those required to participate
III. TEACHING ASSISTANTS’ DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES IN SPAIN
• The candidates selected will complete their duties as language and culture assistants, supporting the teaching of English under the supervision and guidance of a classroom teacher at schools
• The weekly requirement of the assistants is a minimum of 12 class hours (in Comunidad de Madrid and Comunidad Valenciana it could be up to 16 hours), all of which are spent assisting the classroom teacher
• The language assistant and the classroom teacher (or the institution’s head teacher or Principal) may agree upon other tasks such as attending meetings, giving talks and participating in extracurricular activities, such as field trips, school exchanges, school plays, concerts or sports carnivals
• The different local education authorities from each region will allocate each assistant in a primary school, secondary college or language school (adults)
IV. SPECIFIC CONDITIONS OF THE GRANT
• A monthly allowance of approximately 700 € (1000 € in Madrid and Comunidad Valenciana) • Health Insurance • Initial training course at the beginning of the school year • Official certification issued by Spanish educational authorities • Paid school holidays: Christmas and Easter • Lodging, transportation from and to the country of origin and meals are at the applicant’s
own expense.
V. PROCEDURE TO APPLY
Applications must be submitted online through PROFEX (www.educacion.gob.es/profex) Please read the PROFEX manual before registering. Candidates must register on the system by clicking on “registro en el sistema” on the PROFEX introductory page on 2018- Auxiliares de conversación extranjeros en España (available when the application period is open). Then complete the required areas and fields.
Upon completion of the application the applicant must: 1) sign the application and then email the form to the Spanish Education Office at the Embassy of Spain in Canberra: [email protected] 2) send by post a hard copy signed to:
Embassy of Spain in Australia – Education Office 15 Arkana Street YARRALUMLA ACT 2600
The following documents must be scanned and uploaded on PROFEX:
A passport size photo One copy of your passport (minimum validity September 2019) showing the photograph page Original degree certificate(s), diplomas(s) or official academic record 300-word essay or statement of purpose, signed and written in English or Spanish, explaining
the reasons why the applicant wants to participate in the program, their expectations about it and what the applicant can offer to the program
A letter of recommendation or reference letter, written in Spanish or English, from a teacher or employer (see “Letter of recommendation guidelines” at the end of this document)
The Spanish Education Office in Australia will be responsible for the selection process. Positions will be allocated by the Spanish regional authorities. Every applicant that obtains a position will be notified individually through e-mail with the assignment of the specific region in Spain in the weeks following the end of the application period. Candidates must accept or decline this offer of a regional placement within three days of receiving the email from PROFEX. The Spanish regional education authorities will send a letter of appointment with the town and name of the school where the candidate has been assigned. Each region sends the letter of appointment for their corresponding assistants who will be asked to provide the regional Departments of Education with a written acceptance or renunciation of the assignment. Once in Spain, all language assistants are required to provide their schools with a “Working with children” card (NSW), “Working with Vulnerable People” card (ACT) or Blue card (QLD) valid for the period of the Program, or their criminal record, issued in 2018. Once our office acknowledges the applicant’s written acceptance of the position, instructions will be provided to apply for a visa at the relevant Spanish Consulate in your country of current residence. Please refer to:
VI. JANUARY-MAY/JUNE PERIOD 2019 Every year there may be a few positions available for the January-May/June period (June if the destination is Madrid). If you are interested in this, you must apply in the general application period and notify the Spanish Education Office directly by email when sending your application by printing in bold letters on the cover of your application: January-June period 2019. VII. APPLICATION DATES
9 January – 6 April, 2018
MORE INFORMATION For more detailed information on the program and testimonials, please go to these websites: http://www.mecd.gob.es/australia/convocatorias/programas/auxiliares-de-conversacion-australianos or send an email to:
Please, share this document with the person who will write the letter of recommendation that will support your participation in this program. To whom it may concern, Thank you for making the time to create a letter for one of the candidates to the Language and Culture Assistants Program from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport. The person you are writing the letter for has applied for an internship within the program. If the applicant is selected, he/she will be offered a position to support the teaching of English in a K-12 school or a School of Languages in Spain for one academic year. Therefore, the candidate must be responsible, open to new ideas and cultures, and have good social and communicative skills. The candidate will be assisting the English teacher in classes by means of oral practices and conversation techniques to improve the students’ speaking performance. In order to simplify the process for you, next you will find a list with the items that need to be present so that the letter is valid and supports the candidate’s application. The letter, which will be addressed to the Language and Culture Assistants Program Advisors, needs to contain the following elements and information: -To be on letterhead paper from your institution. -Your name, title and contact information. -The capacity in which you know the applicant, and for how long. -A short paragraph assessing the applicant’s qualifications and qualities for his/her success in the program. -A final statement, in which you reflect the applicant’s appropriateness for this opportunity, or not. -Your signature and date. Please see that it is essential that your letter is SIGNED and DATED. In order to deliver this letter, please hand it out to the applicant, who will attach it to his or her application online. If you are uncomfortable with the content of the letter being visible to the candidate, kindly ask him or her to find another professor or employer to recommend him or her.
